1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information technology portfolio management, and deals more particularly with techniques for managing an information technology portfolio using product assessments that are performed using a set of criteria. The criteria are preferably directed toward evaluating, ensuring, and/or improving acceptance of the products in the portfolio by their target marketplace.
2. Description of the Related Art
Developing an information technology (“IT”) product may require a tremendous allocation of resources. For a complex IT product, for example, thousands of person hours and a huge financial outlay may be expended during the development effort. If the product is successful in its target marketplace (or, equivalently, with its target audience), then this resource allocation is typically justified. However, in some cases, a product is not well-received. In these cases, it may happen that a financial return is not realized on the development effort and resource investment.
The market for IT products is highly competitive, and this competition is only increasing over time. If companies in the business of developing IT products are to prosper economically, it behooves them to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the products they develop will be desirable to their target marketplace.
A number of factors may influence whether an IT product is successful with its target marketplace, and these factors may vary among different segments of the marketplace. In the industry, segments of the IT marketplace have sometimes been defined in terms of large business enterprises, medium-sized business enterprises, and small business enterprises. By convention, an enterprise employing over 1,000 people worldwide is considered a large business; those employing less than 100 people worldwide are considered small businesses; and those in between are considered to be medium-sized businesses.
As an example of how differences among marketplace segments influence a product's acceptance, a large business enterprise may employ a staff of well-trained and highly-skilled IT professionals; on the other hand, a medium-sized or small business may have few (or perhaps no) on-site IT personnel. Thus, an IT product that involves complex installation or usage procedures may be acceptable for the large business, but these same characteristics may not be acceptable in the medium-sized or small business environment.
Accordingly, what is needed are improved techniques for managing an IT portfolio, particularly with regard to a product's target marketplace or market segment.